June/July 2003

A mobile computing solution harnessing Bluetooth wireless networking connectivity and the Internet has achieved the difficult job of keeping both a West Country council and its contractors happy ­ not to mention the residents they are serving

Local authorities now outsource many services to get best value for money, including highways maintenance. One downside, though, is an increase in paperwork, since council managers have to authorise work, verify it has been completed and generally check on the contractor's performance. A merry paper chase can ensue, costing time and money, and creating an often unwarranted impression of inefficiency.

Relations between managers and residents can also suffer. To take a very graphic example, council staff may not be able to tell complaining residents when something like a kerb or pothole is scheduled for repair, simply because they don't have access to the information.

From the contractor's viewpoint, efficiency can be hampered. To take another classic example, a repair team booked to do a pothole repair may not have the necessary paper authorisation to fix a broken kerb in the same road, or en route to another job. It's a familiar story.

 

A combination of wireless technologies and Internet-based reporting can transform the picture. That's the conclusion emerging from a trial conducted by Jarvis Infrastructure Services for Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority. Indeed, the year-old project has proved so successful that Jarvis now plans to offer it on other contracts it bids for.

Jarvis's highways division has a contract to maintain the council's highways ­ work which also includes gully emptying. The council has agreed that Jarvis's inspector gangs can tackle defects and complete minor works without the need for specific authorisation. Any additional work identified is reported to the council's highways inspector, who issues a works order.

Each maintenance vehicle is equipped with a GSM mobile telephone, and each team leader has a Compaq 3970 computer in a ruggedised case, incorporating a Bluetooth connector. The inspectors use the Compaqs to record location and work done, and order materials and any specialised plant or equipment. The Bluetooth connection is useful because it means inspectors don't have to dock the Compaqs in the vehicles to transmit data about work progress back to base. At the depot, Jarvis depot managers can plot work progress on a screen.

"I'm not into technology for the sake of it," says senior project manger Dave Collier. "My main brief is to make sure our operational processes are lean and able to deliver high customer-satisfaction levels. Wireless communications bring huge efficiencies to our work teams, while the Internet access allows our customers to check on job progress whenever they like for whatever reason."

Jarvis is using a job management program called Helpdesk Electronic Automation Tracking System (HEAT), which was developed in-house, and is linked to Bath and North East Somerset's Confirm asset and contract management system.

In their own right, the council's inspectors are already using modern data capture technology in the form of PDAs to identify and log the work required. Once this information is downloaded to the Confirm system, it is automatically transferred to HEAT, where it is checked, then transferred to the relevant repair gang's Compaq mobile computer. The gangs input details of any additional work, and this is checked by Jarvis before the company records any additional work.

Among benefits achieved by the system, payments are streamlined, and the council has gained a full maintenance history, better equipping it for any public liability claims that might arise.

A key benefit is that real-time job status is available to Jarvis managers and council staff through a password-enabled Web site. Job status is indicated by a "traffic light" system: red for details received, amber for ongoing and green for completion.

All in all, the scheme exemplifies the best in mobile field service empowerment: reduced paperwork, reduced cost, improved information flow, better productivity and enhanced customer service.